A 39-year-old woman has died after being hit by the driver of a stolen car while crossing a busy D.C. street more than three weeks ago. Tiffany Pippen was hit by the car Aug. 20 and fought to live for 19 days in the ICU before losing the fight last Sunday.
Her devastated family is asking for help as police attempt to identify the driver of the car.
Pippen's aunt, Tracy Jackson, sat in the living room of her Fort Washington home on Friday and described the pain of losing her sister's daughter. Her niece.
"Loved to joke, loved to dance, loved to have fun. She loved her family. She would be in tears each time she saw us, no matter how many times she had seen us," Jackson said. "She was just a loving person. You know, you hear people say that all the time, too, but she really, really was, and she is going to be missed. Truly missed."
Pippen, known as "Mocha," was a fixture along Minnesota Avenue NE, where she would sell her oils. But just before 10 p.m. on Aug. 20, Pippen went to cross Minnesota near Benning Road when she was hit by the driver of a stolen car.
Police say that car has been recovered, but they have not identified the driver.
Jackson says the lead investigator has told her the car stopped a few blocks away and four people jumped out.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
"Besides the guys jumping out of the car and running, they said they had footage of not only the accident, but of them leaving the vehicle," Jackson said. "They said the vehicle was stolen. They were trying to cover their face [from] the police cameras, their cameras, the street cameras, so they were trying to hide their identities."
Jackson said that by sharing her niece's story, someone reading or watching will come forward with information. So far, she says, D.C. police have told her no one has come forward.
"She was a giver, you know, not a user, and I love that she gave us that experience as a family to be able to know her for as long as we have," Jackson said. "… We have memories but we were also robbed of some as well."
News4 asked D.C. police to release the video in hopes it would aid in the investigation, but they have so far not made it public.
If you know anything that might help the investigation, you are urged to call D.C. police.
